The first time I spy question marks during a conversation in The Outer Worlds 2, my curiosity gets the better of me. Hovering over them tells me I'm missing some required information, which locks me out of a possible dialogue response that could open up a different path. This happens in the opening of the RPG, when I'm trying to sway a poor cadet caught up in the ruckus on Horizon Point. Since I previously lied to him, he's reluctant to help me out by lowering a bridge so I can progress, and when my Speech skill fails to persuade him otherwise, I'm left with two alternatives: either I pick the lock to his office and do it myself (likely killing him in the process), or I search for the answer to those intriguing question marks.
Just knowing that somewhere out there is an opportunity waiting to be seized proves to be too enticing to ignore, so with nothing else for it, I back out of the conversation and search the immediate area. It's not long before my efforts prove fruitful, and I find a document about the cadet that not only allows me to convince him, but it even kicks off a new side quest that I wouldn't have gotten otherwise. It may be the first instance this happens, but it's certainly not the last, and I love how rewarding exploration often feels as a result – you never know what you'll find, but it instills in you the idea that your presence in the world, and the actions you've chosen to take, matter.
